“We are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”- Ephesians 2:10 (NLT)
Today’s blog is based on an excerpt from the book Soulprint by Mark Batterson. Tomorrow I’ll begin a series of posts discussing Timothy Keller’s newly published book Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God.
Mark Batterson unequivocally states that our uniqueness is not a testament to us, but to the God who made us. The most important reason our uniqueness is a responsibility is that we owe it to our God, who designed us to “play an irreplaceable role in God’s grand narrative.”
We can’t fulfill that destiny without discovering our true identity. And we aren’t gifted enough to get where God wants us to go without His help. Yet, discovering our true identity is a challenge because we perceive that it’s easier and safer trying to be who we’re not. Pastor Batterson contends that the primary reason we live on a superficial level is because of what we will find when we start digging.
Centuries ago the artist Michelangelo went to work on a mutilated eighteen-foot block of marble that had been abandoned years earlier by another artist. Michelangelo saw something in that stone no one else did. Chiseling away, he envisioned what he called the immagine del cuore– the image of the heart. The masterpiece already was in the stone. All Michelangelo had to do was chip away the excess so David could escape.
Today’s question: Following your vocation loss, what have you discovered about your uniqueness? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “From duty to delight”
